


Warmth

by likehandlingroses



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-27
Updated: 2014-04-27
Packaged: 2018-01-21 01:16:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1532258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/likehandlingroses/pseuds/likehandlingroses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Belle takes care of Rumple after his ordeal with Zelena.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Warmth

Being freed had made Rumple more lightheaded than anything. You could breathe too much, he soon discovered, and the chattering voices of the Charmings made his skull ache more than usual. So much time spent in a cage and still all he wanted to do was sit down in silence.

They had been making plans, of course, talking to him at full speed, taking no notice of the fact that he hadn’t said a word in minutes. Finally, blessedly, Belle interrupted them.

“We’re going home,” she declared. And that was that.

Now he sat on their bed, cursing under his breath. He’d managed to get himself in and out of the shower and into his pajama bottoms, and now his hands couldn’t manage the buttons on the top. They shook, and the more frustrated he became, the harder they trembled.

“Here,” Belle set down the tray of food she’d carried into the room and settled down next to him. She pulled the shirt towards her gently. “Let me.”

Her fingers were light and quick, and he watched them with wonder. He’d gone so long without her that even the smallest parts of her overwhelmed him. When she’d finished, she leaned back and looked him up and down, her eyebrows knit together in concern.

“Your hair’s still dripping,” she said. “Let me get a towel.”

“It doesn’t really matter-”

“It does to me,” Belle said, cupping his cheek with her hand. “And anyway,” she pushed a few wet strands back behind his ear. “If you sleep with it like this, you’ll be complaining about how it looks when you wake up, and we’ll spend hours trying to fix it. You’re very vain about it, you know.”

She gave him a kiss on the cheek before leaving the room. Rumple couldn’t pretend he wasn’t grateful for her attention. He needed it, in fact, more than he cared to admit.

She was back in a moment, a towel in one hand and a comb in the other. She climbed onto the bed behind him and propped herself up on her knees. Her fingers ran through his hair a few times before she took the towel to it. He closed his eyes as she worked. She only snagged him once with the comb. At his hiss of pain, she pressed a kiss to his head.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “We’re almost done.”

After a few more minutes, she maneuvered herself so that she was facing him. She brushed the front pieces back, now nearly dry, and gave him a smile.

“There,” she said. “That’s better.”

“Thank you.” The words weren’t enough, not nearly enough, but he couldn’t seem to find any others.  She gave his temple a kiss.

“You’re very welcome.”

She was off the bed and pushing the tray of soup and crackers onto him in matter of seconds.

“It’s tomato,” she said. “But you can have whatever you want.”

Rumple shook his head. “No, no, this is perfect, thank you.”

He couldn’t eat much, it turned out. His stomach, like everything else, was unsettled and humming with tension. The little he was able to manage warmed him, however, and his nerves had calmed enough to make sleeping a less ridiculous prospect than it had seemed before.

“Have you heard anything from the others?” he asked when Belle returned from putting away his tray.

“No, and I don’t want you worry about it, either,” she scolded him. “If there’s something we absolutely need you for, I’ll tell you. For now, you’re resting.”

“But now that I’m free I can-”

“Now that you’re free we can all stop worrying about what that witch is going to make you do next. That’s enough for now. I know it’s hard for you to accept, but the world _will_ keep turning without you fussing over it.” 

He sighed but lay down, and Belle pulled the blanket up to his chest. She stroked his cheek, running her hand down his arm before squeezing his hand.

“You try and rest, all right?”

She turned to go, and Rumple’s chest tightened in panic.

“Belle, I-” he choked his voice down, but it was too late. He winced as she turned back to him.

“What is it?”

There was no hiding it now. Rumple let a deep breath in and out before speaking. “I…I wish you would stay.”

“Oh,” she whispered, her face softening. “Oh, of course. I can stay, if that’s what you want.”

“If you’re busy-”

“Hush,” she said. “You give me one minute to change, all right?”

Rumple’s guilt over inconveniencing Belle all but disappeared when she was finally tucked in next to him. He rested his head on her chest, and her arms wrapped comfortably around him. His eyes closed as he finally felt something akin to peace.

“I missed you so much,” he whispered into her skin. “So, so much, Belle.”

“I missed you too. But it’s all right now, you’re here with me,” she soothed. “You’re going to be fine. Everything is going to be fine, I promise.”

They were only words meant to placate him, he knew that. With his son dead, he didn’t know if he could ever be fine again. But he clung to the words as tightly as he clung to her. Her warmth and gentleness settled inside of him, finding its old spot and shooing away the tension and fear that had taken its place. He drifted off to sleep in a matter of minutes, Belle’s words of comfort calming his mind. Just as he lost conscious, he thought, perhaps, he could even believe them.


End file.
